Pope Leo warns that conflicts put humanity's future at risk

He says the world is being destabilised by ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace

Pope Leo XIV and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a meeting with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps at the National Library of the Presidential Palace, during the pope's first apostolic journey, in Ankara, Turkey, Nov 27, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Pope Leo lamented that the world was seeing an unusual amount of bloody conflicts, warning on Thursday during his first trip outside Italy as the Catholic leader that a third world war was being "fought piecemeal" with humanity's future at risk.

In his first speech given overseas since his election in May to lead the 1.4 billion-member Church, Leo, the first US pope, said the world was being destabilised by "ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace".

He told political leaders in Turkey, where he is visiting until Sunday, that the world was experiencing "a heightened level of conflict on the global level, fuelled by prevailing strategies of economic and military power".

"We must in no way give in to this," he pleaded. "The future of humanity is at stake."